A Jewel Among Thieves

Chapter 17: Choices

Safia could hear him shift behind her. "Here, why don't I go find us another bottle of wine? A drink might help us both relax a bit."

She kept her back to Rezo. Did he think some cheap alcohol would make her forget that he was selling her out? He was the lowest type of scum, letting her think for a second that they- He'd probably just been interested in a quick lay before his brother came. She should never have let him touch her, never should have let him get closer than she needed to steal his keys. She'd been stupid and too trusting of a charming stranger. Worse, a stranger who was also private security.

He sighed. "Look, it's not as bad as you think it is. I-"

That got her to turn around. She pressed the backs of her hands together and flicked them out in the rudest gesture she knew. Rezo actually flinched. Though that could also have been because of her glare, but whatever the reason, she was glad for it. Let him suffer a bit. "I'm locked up and you intend to hand me over to your brother, the guard, and you say it's not so bad. Or did I misunderstand any part of that?"

Rezo winced. "That is true, but-"

"And you're somehow surprised I'm angry? Are you stupid, or just that completely morally bankrupt? Or did you think I should have been grateful for the quick tup before I get locked away for the rest of my life? Unless of course I get sent away to the colonies, where I'll be expected to be some criminal worse than me's 'wife'. Which will likely just mean personal slave. I know what the marriage laws are like here."

"I didn't mean it like that!" He stepped forward, hands gripping the bars of her cell hard. "I shouldn't have touched you in the first place. I hadn't meant to, I really was trying but then... I'm sorry. I never should have done that. Not while you were in here. Afterwards, I thought-"

She laughed hollowly. "Afterwards? There's no after here. I'm getting arrested and I'm sure your brother will be grateful. Maybe he'll even put a good word in for you and you can finally join the guards, since it's obvious that's what you really want to do. Unless of course you meant to visit me in gaol, be the self-sacrificing hero out to reform the dangerous thief, maybe? I can assure you, if you try that, I'll try to stab you."

"That's not going to happen."

"Oh, isn't it? What exactly do you think's going to happen to me after your brother arrests me? Do you think guards make a habit of releasing people they arrest, just for the fun of it? I can assure you, that hasn't been my experience. Not unless you can pay them enough to make them look the other way. I doubt that's your plan though."

Rezo grimaced, lines spreading out from his mouth. "It's not. I swear-"

"Do you really think I'm going to trust you after this? Do you think your words hold any sway with me? You used me and I was stupid enough to fall for it. That's my problem, and I've learned my lesson." Safia turned her back to him again as her eyes prickled her again. She forced herself to bring her anger back up, to shield herself. "Trusting anyone on your side of the law is just plain stupid."

And she'd gone beyond just trusting him, which was the problem. She should have known better. Should have guarded herself better, especially knowing he had family in the guards. She'd been pulled in by his smile and background not so different from hers. She'd thought he would understand, that he'd seen that she was more than just a thief. But she'd been wrong about that.

A quick glance at the window showed her the deep blue of pre-dawn. She swallowed hard. Her time was almost up. Safia inhaled raggedly and did her best to compose herself, shoving her emotions away, gathering the tattered remains of her professionalism around herself. Her anger wouldn't help her right now.

Only then did she turn back to face him. She kept her face as blank as she could manage, feeling only a faint twitch at the sight of him. She could taste hopelessness, but decided to try one last time to reach the conscience she'd thought Rezo had. "Are you really not going to let me out of here? Are you really going to hand me over to the guards?"

He shifted his weight but didn't turn away. She had to give him points for that, as much as she hated him in the moment. "Yes. I have to, it's my job. But I'm going to talk to Kasen. I have a plan."

Her hand fisted but Safia kept her voice even. "You're going to talk to your brother, Kasen. The man you said worships law, order, and the guards. And you think somehow that's going to make him let me go?"

Rezo rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it sounds bad, but I promise, I know what I'm doing."

"I think you're delusional. As soon as I'm handed over to the guards, my fate is sealed. Gaol or the colonies. Any way you look at it, my fate is sealed if I'm not released from here. And that choice is up to you."

Safia faced the wall again, done talking to him. She couldn't keep up her calm façade anymore. She gritted her teeth to try and keep everything together, so that Rezo wouldn't guess what was going on from her even from her back. She still had her pride.

And if she was being honest with herself, which at the moment was the last thing she wanted to do, she'd admit that she was as angry with herself as she was at him. She was smarter than this. She'd dealt with people trying to use her before. That was one of the reasons she'd ended things with Zeroun, the bastard had been trying to get info about her clients so he could blackmail them because he'd gotten lazy and his own work had dried up.

If she could get out of this, Safia promised herself that she was never going to trust anyone again. At least, not without a long association and a lot of knowledge about them. And she would never trust someone on the other side of the law again.